


Stand Out

by powerdragonmoon



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: A Goofy Movie AU, Disney AU, Drabble, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2018-09-27 12:52:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10021538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/powerdragonmoon/pseuds/powerdragonmoon
Summary: Marinette remembers getting the idea, getting caught up in her anger at Chloé's selfishness. But now as she stood backstage waiting, she suddenly had second thoughts…Maybe this was a bad idea?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Yunyin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yunyin/gifts).



Marinette peeked out from the rich red expanse of the stage curtain, taking in the entire school sitting down in the auditorium for the annual end of school assembly. Her hands shook, listening, but not really hearing the drone of Principal Damocles as he stood behind the center podium. His words became a mere muffled background rumble, soundtracking Marinette’s unease as her eyes roved over the audience.

She could see Alix and Kim locked in an intense battle of thumb war, with Mylène and Ivan watching on in amusement. Max was discreetly staring down at his lap, the flash of a screen against his glasses a clear give away that he was getting a head start on the latest update to Ultimate Mecha Strike III. Juleka and Rose sat side-by-side, leaning against each other. Rose’s head rested on Juleka’s shoulder and both seemed to be fast asleep. Nathanael seemed to share the same idea. He sat in his chair, arms crossed, and head bobbing forward gently.

Eventually, Marinette found who she was looking for. Her eyes widened as she pinpointed Adrien in the front row, one of the only students actually paying attention. From the row behind him, Marinette watched in horror as Chloé leaned forward to whisper something in his ear.

Her grip on the heavyweight velour tightened, bunching the material up into her fists. But Marinette gained no comfort from its warmth and softness. She continued to stare as Adrien turned, leaning slightly back, to nod politely at Chloé with a small smile. He quickly whispered back to her before he faced forward once more, and Marinette’s breath faltered. For a moment it seemed as if his eyes locked onto her, spotting her amidst the red material. In a panic she jumped backwards, dropping the curtain and backing away.

She carefully readjusted her fingerless, lace gloves, desperately wanting to grab at her hair or pull on her pigtails. However she fought the urge, remembering all the hard work and effort Alya had put into completing her new look. Her usual deep, dark hair had been temporary coloured with hair chalk, effectively staining the ends purple.

To add to the new hairstyle, her makeup had been done up with an exuberant amount of smoky eyeshadow and smudged liner. The meticulous time spent put into blending and getting both eyes as symmetrical as possible had paid off. And the dark contrast made her blue eyes pop even in the low lighting.  

Furthermore, her whole outfit was quite the fashion statement, differing greatly from her regular ensemble. In lieu of her typical pink pants and ballet flats, she wore vertical-striped, black and yellow leggings and clunky, black combat boots. Gone was her signature, white t-shirt with its subtle floral accents. Instead, it was replaced with a black scoop neck tank top dress that ended in a playful flare above her mid-thigh. Panels of synthetic leather were another added detail, hidden but still slightly discernable in the pleats of the skirt. The shiny material further added dimension and echoed the lines of her leggings.

Overtop her dress was the real statement piece of the entire getup: a black, sequined jacket with yellow trim, further adorned with golden epaulettes across her shoulders. Having worked hard on the jacket for days, Marinette had come to appreciate the way it flashed in the light; it was designed for performing. Even in the dark backstage area it seemed to catch every available light, sparkling and glittering like starlight.

With all these factors combined, Marinette resembled a rock star…no a _rock legend_.

There she was, almost an exact replica of the famous Jagged Stone.

Or as Alya had earlier dubbed her…

Jagged Pebble.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrienette month is coming to a close, and you know who has been absolutely KILLING IT!?!?! yeah, you know who I’m talking about!! @yunyin has consistently posted the most amazing and gorgeous fanart this month every freak-fracking day!! AND JUST WOW!!! it’s definitely been the highlight of my month!! so thanks to @adrinettemonth and yunyin for being awesome ^^ 
> 
> THAT BEING SAIIIDDDD… its coming up to our favourite onion artist’s birthday sooon!!!!!! and as an early bday present for yunyin here’s a short drabble to show my appreciation, it falls under day 8th’s prompt, disney AU and is based on this post by yunyin: http://yunyin.tumblr.com/post/156572331230#notes
> 
> **whispers** ***audreys birthday is on March 7… consider sending her all your thanks and well wishes and gifts galore!!!***


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien sat still, facing forward with full attention as Principal Damocles continued discussing the importance of summer reading—something that Adrien was certain was surely already arranged for him by his father and Nathalie.

An insistent pat on his shoulder had him turning in his seat. Chloé, who was sitting behind him, leaned over his shoulder, just a little too close for Adrien’s comfort. He leaned back with a polite smile.

“Adrikins!” she half-whispered, half-yelled, and Adrien tried his best not to flinch. He glanced up to the stage to see if Principal Damocles noticed the interruption, but he seemed to be completely engrossed in his discussion about ‘Science Slumber Parties’ to care, or perhaps he was just used to letting Chloé get away with such shenanigans.

“Yes, Chloé?” Adrien asked tentatively, keeping his voice down in hopes that she would follow suit.

She didn’t.

“You’re coming to my party next week, right?” she boosted loudly. “It’ll be a huge! And then afterwards Daddy arranged for a limo to take us all to the Jagged Stone concert! He rented an entire booth! VIP!”

Adrien lit up at the mention of Jagged Stone, but quickly remembered his schedule. With the summer break from school, he was sure his days to be soon filled to the brim with photoshoots and tutoring sessions. Slightly disheartened, he replied, “Thanks Chlo, I’ll have to ask Father.”

She scoffed, pursing her lips in thought as she sat back in her seat, only to rise back up. This time her hand was considerably gentle on his shoulder and her voice much quieter as she whispered, “I can get Daddy to talk to him.”

“That’s okay.” Adrien shook his head, smiling in thanks for Chloé’s offer.

“You sure?”

He nodded.

And Chloé seemed to understand. Her sharp blue eyes softened some as she squeezed his shoulder knowingly. She shrugged before finally returning to her seat and Adrien could hear her telling Sabrina to add his name to the top of the guest list. Adrien admired her optimism, and internally hoped that he would be allowed to join the rest of the class at Chloé’s party.

He turned his attention back to Principal Damocles, wondering about what his father would think about the idea of ‘Science Slumber Parties’ and Jagged Stone concerts, when suddenly all the lights in the auditorium went out.

At the sound of Principal Damocles’s gasp of surprise, Adrien instinctively reached for his bag, ready to head to the nearest exit to transform. His eyes scanned around for possible signs of an akuma.

He paused though at the sound of a familiar rhythm. And curiosity got the better of him as the curtains behind Principal Damocles rose, revealing a the large projector screen.

“Well, this isn’t right,” the principal exclaimed, tapping his microphone and frowning. He glanced off stage. Adrien, being at the front row could just barely hear him. Principal Damocles turned to the audience, yelling, “Just one moment, students! We appear to be having some technical dif—”

In a sudden flash, a figure appeared, projected across the stage screen, towering high over the principal. She was confident and alluring, standing tall with her arms crossed in front of her. Her whole image and aesthetic screamed Jagged Stone, from her messy, purple-tipped hair to her black sequined jacket.

She looked awesome.

“Hey!” Principal Damocles shouted, glancing up at the unknown figure. She paid him no mind, pushing her Eiffel Tower glasses up the bridge of her nose. They were striped in the colours of the French flag and very similar—if not identical—to the pair that Marinette had designed for Jagged Stone himself.

It was then that Adrien recognized the song. It was one of his favourite Jagged Stone titles and suddenly the whole ensemble made sense. He smiled.

The unknown performer flashed on the screen, striking a few poses, each one putting Adrien’s entire modelling career to shame. It also seemed to further incense the principal until he finally dropped his microphone, leaving the stage to go search for the source of the issue himself. A few students started cheering.

This left Adrien staring up at the screen, like the rest of the school, suddenly awake and entranced by the sudden upbeat production. The camera zoomed out to reveal the mystery girl completely, clad in a shiny, leather-like dress that reminded Adrien of his Chat Noir suit.

And then she started singing the song. Her voice was smooth and sultry in comparison to Jagged’s more harsh delivery. But Adrien had no criticisms, watching as on the screen she moved naturally, dancing along. She was further enhanced by some fancy video editing that mirrored her face four times over, meaning that when she smiled at the camera, it was four times as strong.

Adrien felt a unexpected heat on his cheeks, wondering if perhaps in all the excitement the auditorium’s heating had gone up.

There was something so achingly familiar in her smile, in her moves, and the contagious sort of confidence she gave off. Her hips swayed along to the music and she exuded a natural sort of agility as she reached for her microphone stand, dipping it ever so casually. Adrien wondered what it would be like to be able to move with such freedom. In a way it reminded him of the freedom he gained from his Chat Noir abilities, but as he watched the girl move on-screen, he wondered if even as his alter-ego if he could reach such levels of showmanship.

He wondered if behind her glasses were bluebell eyes.

On screen, the girl continued to dance, hitting the beats of the song just right. Adrien spared a quick moment to check the empty seat beside him, wondering how long Nino was going to be in the washroom for as he was missing out on something amazing.

With a flick of her wrist, the girl unattached her microphone from its stand, twirling gracefully as the camera followed her, catching the cute fluttering of her dress and the way the flashing lights played with her deep, dark hair. And when she turned back to the camera, she dropped her mic, catching it by its cord just before it hit the floor and spinning it as if it were made to do so…

As if it were a yo-yo.

In an instant Adrien saw a glimmer of red and black. His mind melded the moment with a move he’d seen far too often with the same sort of awe as he was feeling right now. Although usually this move was better associated with heroic battles and white butterflies, rooftop adventures and fist pumps of victory.

But no…the rational side of Adrien’s mind rejected the thought.  

There was no way Ladybug would be at his school, performing a cover of a Jagged Stone song on the last day of school.

Right?

A sudden yell of surprise sounded as the not-Ladybug girl tripped, flailing indelicately before the auditorium screen ripped open. The camera footage switched to static as the girl that Adrien was fifty percent sure wasn’t Ladybug, tumbled onto the stage.

The sound of her yell and somewhat clumsy recovery reminded Adrien of his first encounter with a girl in red falling from the sky and into his arms…or more aptly, crashing into him and turning his world upside down. He was now twenty-five perfect sure the girl on stage wasn’t Ladybug and he felt his heart quicken, even as he sat in his chair, frozen in awe, while all around him the school combusted in roars of approval.  

The cord of the mic had tangled around her, and while she had somehow miraculously landed standing up, she hopped, waving an arm until finally free. In a flourish, she spun, unraveling the cord and grabbing at it again to swing the microphone back into her hand.

She smiled sheepishly, waving to the crowd, and the action was like an arrow through Adrien’s chest, one that didn’t put him under the control of an akuma, but under the control of her…

Ladybug.

She was Ladybug.

And she was looking right at him.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another year and another birthday for sweet yunyin!!! Happy birthday lovely!!! (yes, i will only update this fic on her birthday, unless otherwise motivated, XD gotta stick to my non-existent updating schedule) 
> 
> Go wish audrey a very happy birthday [here](https://yunyin.tumblr.com/)!


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